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.“Yeah, I know that feeling,” Teddy said, his eyes on me.I frantically shook my head, not wanting Wayne to notice.Wayne grunted.“We started seeing each other the night of our class reunion.But it didn’t take too long before I started to notice, shall we say, flaws in her personality.For one, she always had an excuse to keep from introducing me to her kids.She also seemed a little inconsiderate.I mean, she knows I work for Con Ed.She wanted to go out to dinner two or three times a week, and I’m not talking Applebee’s, either.” He shook his head.“I must have put over a thousand dollars on my Visa card.But when I figured out that she really wanted some other dude, I let her go.”I blinked.“Wayne, are you saying you broke it off?”“Yeah.A man can take only so much.I felt like shit—excuse my French, Emily—when I realized she was just with me until she could get who she really wanted.And that’s someone who can afford to drop a couple of hundred dollars a week on dinner.” He paused.“Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, Emily, but it’s Aaron.”I shrugged.“She’s never made a secret of wanting him, ever since Rosalind’s dinner party when she announced she and her husband were divorcing.And then there was her ‘accidental’”—I held up my hands and made quotation marks with my index fingers—“outburst New Year’s Eve.” I didn’t add that that outburst was presently causing static between Aaron and me.“What outburst?” Teddy wanted to know.“That’s right, you were dancing with Elias’s date,” Wayne said.“We were talking about how so many of us at the party had known each other since childhood, and how neat it was that we’d formed couples as adults.Tanis had been drinking almost nonstop, and she blurted out that you and Emily were a couple, Teddy.”“Son of a—”“When I asked what she meant by that, she said she’d seen Emily out with you last summer at a convenience store in Euliss.It sounded kind of convoluted.She said something about Emily trying to hide from her, and then she said that whatever you’d bought, Teddy, it was too small to go into a bag.”“She said that?”“I told her you stopped to get some gum,” I said quickly.“I got her out of there quick,” Wayne said, “but I’m afraid she left a vivid impression on everyone’s mind on what might have happened that night.”“Well, as I told you New Year’s Day, Wayne, there was no harm done,” I said.“Aaron said he remembered my telling him about my car breaking down and how I’d called Teddy to bring me home.”“Tanis said she felt awful about it when she woke up, and I believed her, but I’ve since learned what a little schemer she can be,” Wayne continued.“You know, I’m tired of all the plots black women have run on me.I think I might find me a white girl.”I lowered my chin to my chest.“I know how Tanis can be, but don’t judge all black women by her.” I must say I was getting a bit tired of seeing black women portrayed by black men as evil, scheming creatures.“First there was Tracy, getting pregnant on me like that.”I raised an eyebrow.“And she did this by herself?”“No, but she took advantage of me one morning, and I ended up operating without my gloves.She knew exactly what she was doing.Then she got an attitude when I told her I wasn’t marrying her.Hell, I didn’t even like her all that much.I sure as hell didn’t want to get stuck with her forever.I think part of the reason she wanted to hold on to me was because I had a steady job.I’m sorry to say, Emily, that it’s been that way for me in every relationship I’ve had except with my ex-wife—and that relationship had a different set of problems.I’m tired of being viewed as a security blanket.”Maybe he had a point.I knew from myself and my friends that the older we got and still remained single, the more fearful we tended to become, and one had to work at not appearing desperate.Nonetheless, hearing it expressed made me cranky.I was tired of seeing good black men run to the other side.Who the hell were black women like my friends supposed to hook up with? In my annoyance I glared at Wayne.At least you’ve got something that makes you desirable to women.Your looks alone sure as hell aren’t going to attract anybody.“I don’t know, Wayne,” Teddy said.“White women can be just as bad.I don’t think it’s a color thing as much as it’s just a female thing.”The waitress brought our food and handed Wayne a bag and a check.“I’m gonna pay for this and get going,” he said.“It’s good to see you both.Take care.”“At least he found out about Tanis in time,” I said to Teddy after Wayne had gone.“That bitch.I still can’t believe I fell for her telling me that you knew she was inviting me to your party.I told her when the clock struck twelve that she’d better not be up to anything to try to make trouble for you or else I’d see she regretted it.”“Teddy! You threatened her?”“Damn right.I knew she was up to something.I guess she didn’t believe me.”“She knows you wouldn’t do her any harm.But it doesn’t really matter now, Teddy.Wayne dumped her—” I believed his version of the breakup more than I believed the one Tanis had told Rosalind—“and she hasn’t been heard from since Aaron backed me up at the party.”“Yeah, I guess.”As Teddy and I ate, I inquired innocently, “So you’ve revised your opinion of black women as being gold diggers?”He rolled his eyes.“Why am I not surprised that you still remembered that? All right, you got me.I told you that I’d have to cut back on my social activities once my rent went up.”“And that didn’t sit too well with the woman you were seeing.”“No.I bought a co-op on Maynard Street.I decided that if I was going to pay all that rent I might as well get some equity in something.”“Congratulations, Teddy!”“Thanks.I just moved a month ago.It’s a nice place.Garden style, with a big patio and views of the river.It’s got hardwood floors and granite countertops in the kitchen, and there’s a pool and a gym.”“It sounds wonderful.”“I’m pretty happy with it.The previous owner made some nice improvements, like mirrors on the bedroom closet doors and a step-in shower with glass door instead of a bathtub.But the lady I was seeing already had a house that went to her in her divorce settlement.To her, buying a one-bedroom apartment is no big deal.She just wants a man who’ll spend money on her
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